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Jax’s pulse took off at a running go. Aware of two police cruisers parking in front of the market, he let the officers enter the store before he nodded at Tyler and let him have the first swing. After Tyler threw a left hook and a right, Jax took it from there. Before the cops could intervene, they left the fellow in a heap, doubled over at their feet. Jax spit on the ground next to him. “Go ahead and give your statement, you son of a bitch. I’ll tell the cops I gave you what you asked for. And then I’ll tell ’em I left you grinning from ear to ear.”
They took slow strides to the truck. Tyler reclaimed his position at the driver’s seat and Jax jumped on the tailgate. Tyler had just thrown the truck into drive when the guy on the ground scrambled to his feet. He swiped his bloody mouth with his forearm and glared at them as if he were plotting and scheming, planning his next move.
By this time the cops had approached the fellow. He seemed to ignore them so he could stare after Tyler and Jax.
Tapping the truck bed with his fist, Jax yelled, “Let’s get out of here.”
They drove by the pumps on their way out and Jax couldn’t help but notice the fellow’s personalized New York license plates. Handsome.
He scooted closer to the cab of the truck and leaned over the side. “Hold up, Tyler.”
Braking, Tyler stuck his head out the window. “Want to go back there and finish this?”
“I might,” Jax said, fishing his phone out of his pocket. “
Let me see if Brianna has anything to say about the matter. Something tells me there’s a little more to this story than anyone knows.”
Chapter Six
Flint and Brianna stopped in front of the main stables. They’d driven the short distance from the market to her place without exchanging a word. In many ways, she’d been relieved Flint had been with her.
After seeing Handsome at the store, she’d nearly lost it. Fortunately, Flint didn’t pressure her to talk about what had happened. He let her fall to pieces without saying anything at all. Once or twice, he stroked her cheek with his knuckles, drying up her tears with the back of his hand, but he didn’t question her.
Flint’s phone rang soon after they entered the barn. “Everything all right?” He listened to whoever was on the other end before he said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” A beat later, he snapped, “Because you have a way of upsetting her, Jax. That’s why.”
Nearly mechanical in her movements, Brianna walked in the tack room and hung up the new halters. She acknowledged the first two open stall doors and assumed Drina and Nory were out for a ride. Button, an aging Palomino, was rarely ridden by anyone else.
“Jax needs to talk to you,” Flint said, thrusting his phone in her direction. “It’s important.”
Perspiration dampened the hairs on her nape. Her forehead and cheeks were on fire. Her vision blurred. Flashbacks from the past scrambled in her mind as one image and then another popped in her head. She could clearly see Handsome’s diabolical smile, the flash of perfect straight teeth. She could almost smell the mix of expensive aftershave and sex combined with sweat and mildew, the moisture settling in the carpet of the dated motel room.
“You okay?” Flint asked, dragging her away from a memory she longed to forget.
She quickly nodded and gripped the phone. Flint gave her some space and she said, “Hello.”
“I need the truth from you. I’m here at the store. Tyler and I have been visiting with this fellow you know as Handsome.” He sniffed. God, she’d always hated that. When Jax sniffed, it was typically a tell-all sign. He was mad as hell.
“Brianna, did you fuck him willingly?”
Flint jerked. Apparently he’d heard the question from a couple of feet away.
“Did I…” Brianna gasped. Then she nearly gagged. She was unable to comprehend what or why Jax would ask such a question. She shook her head over and over again. No, she could lie to other people but she couldn’t lie to herself.
She swallowed as the truth hit her square in the face. Brianna couldn’t lie to them.
“He asked you a question.” Flint’s burning gaze bore into her.
Her stomach rumbled. Her palms were sweaty. How did she tell the men she’d always viewed as “her” men that what happened to her was a direct result of what she’d invited? She shook her head again, feeling nearly mechanical in her movements. No, she’d invited a romp, but she hadn’t welcomed abuse.
“Brianna?” Jax’s voice echoed in her ears.
They wouldn’t let her escape them. The Jackson brothers had known her too long and somewhere deep inside, she understood the magnitude of the question and why Jax had chosen to ask her right then and there.
A man’s life was on the line.
At that moment, on the rarest of occasions, she imagined her father there. What would he say if he were there to advise her? She understood well because she’d often heard Drina quote their father. Without thinking, without even meaning to speak, she whispered, “We take care of our own. We’ll handle this in our own time, in our own way.”
Flint cursed under his breath and marched to her. Holding out his hand, he said, “Give me the phone.”
